Jillian Soto’s most enduring memory of her college years at Eastern Connecticut State University came in December 2007, near the end of her big sister Victoria’s time at the school.

The day of Victoria’s graduation, Jillian went to her sister’s dorm, only to be told Victoria had stepped out. A suitemate asked Jillian to put some water in the refrigerator in Victoria’s room.

And when she did, Victoria — masked — popped out of the appliance with a camera.

“She was always silly and spontaneous, and I loved that about her,” Jillian, 24, said during an emotional tribute to her sister Saturday afternoon at the campus where Victoria spent four years training to be a teacher. “It is times like these that I remember Vicky made us so happy, yet makes it so hard because we miss her so much.”

It has been nearly three months since Victoria Soto, 27, and 25 others were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. In the days since Dec. 14, her name has become synonymous with the stories of heroism that flowed out of the community.

Soto died protecting her first-graders, shielding them with her body from the bullets of the gunman’s rifle. In January, officials in her hometown of Stratford unanimously voted to name a new school in her honor.

“I can’t think of any better way to dedicate your own careers, those of you who are looking to be teachers, than to keep in your heart and mind the gifts of this extraordinary teacher who, upon leaving this campus, dedicated herself to the Sandy Hook school,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said. “You could not find a finer person to want to emulate than the one whose life we celebrate today.”

The Betty R. Tipton Room, which seats 500 people, was filled to capacity on Saturday, and most who attended the service wore the green-and-white ribbons representing the school colors of Newtown affixed to their lapels.

Soto graduated from ECSU in 2008, double-majoring in education and history. Her friends and family said Soto knew from childhood that she’d become a teacher, and never stopped striving for that goal.

But along the way, she found time to be a friend, mentor and community leader – often volunteering at Big Brothers Big Sisters while taking classes full-time.

“If you were going to be with Vicky, you were going to have a good time,” said Rachel Schiavone, Soto’s college roommate and best friend. “Her friendship was completely genuine and true. We shared a bond that was so strong and beautiful.”

The 90-minute memorial included a constantly running slide show capturing moments of Soto’s life. In nearly every picture, she was smiling or hugging someone.

ECSU President Elsa Nunez, who got to know Soto during her time there, said officials decided to hold the event because of the profound impact she had on so many in the community.

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“It is my hope that by coming together today, it will uplift the hearts of everyone here, because that is what she did naturally, and that is the greatest tribute we could give her today,” Nunez said.

Malloy, comparing the teaching careers of Connecticut’s hero and heroine — Nathan Hale and Prudence Crandall — to Soto, said her legacy is now etched in the state’s history.

“We all know there is another heroine who is a teacher also,” Malloy said. “This sister, this daughter, this teacher, this fellow student.”